A home in the Hamptons was rented for $ 2 million this summer as demand far exceeds the record low supply of homes for sale and rent, according to brokers.
The number of homes listed for sale in the Hamptons fell 41 percent in the first quarter, marking the fastest decline on record, according to a report by Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel. The average selling price, which jumped 31% to $ 1.3 million, is now 20% higher than the average selling price in Manhattan.
“I’ve never seen the Hamptons market like that, ever,” said Gary DePersia, a senior agent at Hamptons for more than 25 years. “As soon as a property was rented or sold, it was immediately snatched away.”
While markets across the country are seeing a shortage of homes for sale, supply is especially sluggish in these exclusive New York beach communities. Families who fled the Hamptons during the early days of the Covid pandemic remain there, preferring to move to New York only as needed. The stock market boom and rising asset prices have sparked an explosion of wealth that even Hamptons brokers consider unprecedented. And the lack of supplies and land for construction has prevented builders from keeping up with demand.
A 42-acre estate in Southampton has just hired more than $ 100 million, brokers said, which meant the most expensive deal of years for the Hamptons. In East Hampton, there have been four recent bids for more than $ 50 million, DePersia said.
First-quarter sales in the Hamptons were the strongest in six years, according to Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel, suggesting the market shows few signs of cooling.
As for rent, brokers said the lack of homes for sale has also led to a lack of rents. Homeowners who normally rented their homes for the summer now sell or decide not to rent them, as Covid still limits travel to Europe and other high-end destinations.
The shortage of rents has led to rising prices, with little room for negotiation, brokers said.
DePersia said a house in Sagaponack that was rented for $ 90,000 last July was rented for $ 225,000 this July. At the “lower” end, homes that used to be rented for $ 35,000 now charge $ 60,000.
He said he has a long list of clients who want to rent high-end homes between $ 400,000 and $ 600,000 for the season, but simply none are available.
“I’d like to have ten,” he said. “I could rent them all.”
Rentals are hired almost as soon as an ad is posted. Broker Rima Mardoyan said some wealthy customers fly by helicopter or plane to see a property the same day it appears on the list, only to find it rented when they arrive.
“I tell people they can’t wait to make up their minds. You have to take it right away,” he said.
Mardoyan and other brokers said at least one house in the Hamptons was rented for $ 2 million in the summer, although the deal was made discreetly without an official listing.
“This is a new level of wealth we’re seeing now, even for the Hamptons,” he said.
Harald Grant, a longtime broker in the Hamptons, said he recently made an offer on behalf of a client to rent a beachfront home for the summer for $ 2 million. It was rejected.
“I offered him $ 2 million and the owner said no,” Grant said. “Can you imagine? It’s a different world now.”
Some homeowners have begun to surpass prices, agents said, asking for $ 500,000 for an average house away from the water or with old interiors. Still, Mardoyan said he wouldn’t be surprised if the bidding wars that are now common for sales in Hamptons begin to spread to rents, with tenants competing to offer more than the sale price.
“It hasn’t happened yet,” he said. “But I think that’s the next phase. People want to be here and have the money.”